The Theory of Land Rent at the Crossroads

Abstract

A critical survey is offered of various recent positions in the theory of land rent. An attempt is made to strip rent discourse of those peculiarities that have alienated some of its potential audience, thereby turning the theory into the esoteric property of an academic coterie. The discussion of the last fifteen years is divided into three phases, namely consensus (in the 1970s), transition (at the turn of the decade), and rupture (in the 1980s). The typical beliefs, claims, and tenets of each phase are reconstructed and discussed, and the transition from one phase to another is analyzed. In order to facilitate and incite further discussion the present, that is third, phase is purposefully construed in terms of two rival lines of thought: the idiographic line (that denies the possibility of a general theory of land rent, advocating instead the analysis of concrete situations), and the nomothetic line (that searches for general laws). The first line is rejected in favour of the second.